The Winds Of Winter: Biggest Game of Thrones Questions GRRM Must Answer
George R.R. Martin's next ASOIAF book, The Winds of Winter, needs to answer several questions left over from the previous novel and GOT's series.
While HBO’s Game of Thrones ended in 2019, series author George RR Martin’s upcoming The Winds of Winter book still needs to answer several important questions about its characters. Somewhere around season 4, the show surpassed A Song of Ice and Fire's written releases and significantly departed from some of Martin's original storylines. As such, while readers of A Song of Ice and Fire's books have plenty of questions leftover from A Dance with Dragons’ plotlines not featured in the TV show, fans are also left wondering how the TV characters’ storylines will play out differently in the next novel.
A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in the series, ends its story at approximately the season 5-6 mark of Game of Thrones, which means George R.R. Martin’s later character arcs may be extremely different from those created by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Martin revealed that some aspects of Game of Thrones’ series finale do align with his preferred ending, but the overarching conclusions to many storylines will be different. Since Game of Thrones cut many significant characters and stories from Martin’s books, it’s not difficult to imagine just how different the endings of Winds of Winter and the final book, A Dream of Spring, will be from season 8.
Considering how controversial Game of Thrones’ season 8 finale continues to be today, many fans are anticipating The Winds of Winter more than ever in hopes of more satisfying character progressions. The ending of the television series saw the deaths of major characters like Daenerys, Cersei, and Jaime, alongside very propitious conclusions for the living Stark children. While some were content with how HBO’s adaptation ended, others are hoping George R.R. Martin’s story concludes much differently. While The Winds of Winter’s release is still unknown after over a decade’s worth of writing, here are the biggest Game of Thrones questions that Martin’s sixth book needs to answer.
Just as viewers in Game of Thrones’ season 5 finale were left wondering if Jon Snow was truly dead, A Dance with Dragons left off with Jon seemingly stabbed to death by brothers of the Night’s Watch. The beginning of Game of Thrones season 6 revealed that Jon Snow had truly died from his wounds, with the Lord Commander’s body being looked after by Ser Davos, Edd, Jon’s loyalists, and Melisandre. Davos then encourages Melisandre to use the magic of the Lord of Light to resurrect Jon Snow, which she does successfully. While Davos is far from Castle Black in the books, Melisandre is still at the Wall, suggesting she will still be able to resurrect Jon. With a few key characters missing from the action and the Mutiny at Castle Black taking place under fairly different circumstances, Jon Snow’s resurrection in The Winds of Winter is apt to differ from Game of Thrones. Following his resurrection, there’s also the question of whether he’ll head directly south to aid Stannis in taking Winterfell back from the Boltons.
The most significant revelation in Game of Thrones came during the season 6 finale when it was revealed that Jon Snow was never truly the bastard son of Ned Stark, as he was always secretly the trueborn son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned’s sister, Lyanna Stark. Jon’s true parentage in Game of Thrones didn't change many characters' allegiances against Daenerys once his real name, Aegon Targaryen, was revealed, but it’s unclear how this will progress in The Winds of Winter. Jon’s parentage is still a major question in the A Song of Ice and Fire books, though many still believe Lyanna Stark is his mother, as suggested by Ned’s memories of her last words being “promise me, Ned” as she lay in a bed of blood. That said, many still believe that Jon’s father could be Rhaegar Targaryen considering the history of the two characters.
Alongside many departures from George R.R. Martin’s books, Game of Thrones cut one of the most important parts of Cersei’s prophecy: “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” The term “Valonqar” translates to “little brother” in High Valyrian, which led many A Song of Ice and Fire readers to assume she would be killed by her younger brother Tyrion or her twin brother Jaime. Although Game of Thrones removed this bit, many still held out hope that she would die at the hands of her brother, with many rooting for it to be Jaime. At the end of Game of Thrones, Cersei and Jaime died together as the Red Keep collapsed on top of them, which many felt was an unsatisfactory resolution for the show's most hated villain. Cersei's death may not come until A Dream of Spring, but The Winds of Winter is apt to expand on the “valonqar” aspect of this prophecy, with fans eagerly wondering whether Jaime or Tyrion will kill Cersei.
Just as in the show, Brienne and Jaime form a close bond in Game of Thrones’ books, but her journey after the two depart leads her to a possible betrayal. Brienne was given two choices by Lady Stoneheart in the books: sword (kill Jaime and prove her loyalty) or noose (die by hanging alongside Podrick). After being sentenced to hang, Brienne eventually chooses sword, and is sent to murder Jaime in A Dance with Dragons. Brienne successfully finds Jaime and brings her back with him to the Riverlands under the guise that she needs help retrieving Sansa from the Hound, though the book left off without confirming their fates. While Game of Thrones ended with Jaime choosing Cersei over Brienne, it seems unlikely that Brienne would kill Jaime when she’s in love with him–and vice versa–or before Jaime has closure with Cersei.
A major storyline cut from Game of Thrones’ show is Young Griff, who claims to be Rhaeger’s son Aegon Targaryen in disguise. Raised by Jon Connington, Young Griff is preparing to reclaim the Iron Throne as Lord Varys manipulates the current rulers, having just killed the regent Kevan Lannister in order to make way for Griff assuming the throne. Having recruited the Golden Company to his side, Aegon is prepared to attack Storm’s End and reclaim his birthright, but many fans believe him to be a pretender. Since the books have sewn doubt into readers’ minds about Young Griff truly being Aegon Targaryen, The Winds of Winter will need to finally confirm his identity. If he truly is Aegon Targaryen, both Daenerys Targaryen and possibly Jon Snow will be conflicted in claims to the Iron Throne.
In attempting to recruit the North to Stannis’ side, Ser Davos Seaworth is on a mission to find Rickon Stark at the end of A Dance with Dragons. Davos never embarked on such a journey in Game of Thrones, as he still would have been standing beside the deceased Jon Snow at this time. In the books, Lord Wyman tells Davos that he knows that Rickon is now located on Skagos, so if Davos retrieves Rickon Stark and his direwolf, Shaggydog, he will pledge his allegiance to Stannis Baratheon against the Boltons. Game of Thrones viewers recall that Ramsay Bolton ultimately found Rickon and kept him in the dungeons in season 6, first murdering Shaggydog before killing Rickon with an arrow during the Battle of the Bastards. Since Rickon’s fate is still unknown in the books, The Winds of Winter must answer whether Davos finds him, and whether he returns home safely.
The end of A Dance with Dragons sees Stannis’ army marching toward Winterfell, with readers eagerly awaiting the answer of whether he takes it from the Boltons. In George R.R. Martin’s Winds of Winter preview chapter, Stannis is preparing for battle and reveals his intention to execute Theon Greyjoy in order to keep the Northmen on his side. With a sizeable army at his call, Stannis could very well take Winterfell, though, like in Game of Thrones, he doesn’t have Melisandre beside him. In Game of Thrones, Stannis died while trying to invade Winterfell when slain by Brienne of Tarth, with his army failing to take the castle. However, Stannis may have the wildlings and Jon Snow (if resurrected) as allies in The Winds of Winter, and Brienne is currently elsewhere, suggesting he can actually take down Ramsay Bolton and reclaim Winterfell in the books.
In the books, Tyrion and Daenerys have seen one another, but never properly met. He’s on his way to find her and join Daenerys' side in Slaver's Bay, though is now marching with the Second Sons, hoping to bring them over to her army. If Tyrion is successful, then, like in Game of Thrones, The Winds of Winter may see him become Dany’s Hand of the Queen before she leaves for Westeros.
One of the biggest unanswered questions from Game of Thrones involves the identity of Azor Ahai. Both in George R.R. Martin’s books and Game of Thrones, the reborn Azor Ahai was prophesied as the prince (or princess) that was promised, who wielded the burning sword Lightbringer. Melisandre frequently claims that Azor Ahai will be reborn after a long summer and will stand against the darkness. It was theorized that Azor Ahai would be Stannis Baratheon, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, or Daenerys Targaryen, but Game of Thrones ended without giving a clear answer, though Jon and Arya were closest to fulfilling Azor Ahai's prophecy. In either The Winds of Winter or A Dream of Spring, George R.R. Martin will need to answer who fulfills the Azor Ahai prophecy, and what that means for the fates of the main characters.
In a much more general sense, readers are questioning how Winds of Winter’s ending will compare to the finales of Game of Thrones’ later seasons. While Winds of Winter is apt to end before the final battle for the Iron Throne, as this will likely conclude A Dream of Spring, it may leave off somewhere toward the end of season 6 or 7. Game of Thrones season 6 ended with Cersei on the Iron Throne after Tommen and Myrcella died, while season 7 ended with Jon and Daenerys consummating their romance and the White Walkers breaking through the Wall. It's possible that The Winds of Winter will end similarly to Game of Thrones season 7 with the White Walkers being an imminent threat for the realm. With the final ending of George R.R. Martin's book series teased as very different from Game of Thrones, many are wondering how The Winds of Winter's ending will set up the characters for the final installment.